NPN on Twitter

NPN Visitors

Thursday, March 10, 2011

This week and next we will be taking a look at three Vekoma coasters which, when they opened, were located in three Six Flags parks, spread out over the US. Which is ironic considering Déjà Vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined.

In 2001 Six Flags purchased four of Vekoma's newest creation, the Giant Inverted Boomerang, which is actually a modified version of company's popular Boomerang series.

The first original Boomerang opened in 1984 and there are approximately 50 of them operating around the world. Three of the new giants stayed here in the States, the fourth was constructed in Spain, at Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid.

The US Giant Inverted Boomerangs were all dubbed Déjà Vu and these triplets were tall and fast. Taking riders on a twisting, looping inverted thrill ride, forwards and backwards, they were considered state of the art technology.

The ride layout is the same as a typical boomerang, the train slowly backs out of the station and up the vertical lift hill, pulled by the catch car. Once reaching the top of the lift, with riders facing straight down, the train is released and zooms through the station heading into the cobra roll.

After twisting through the cobra roll, riders then go through a vertical loop and hit the second vertical spike of the ride. A catch car grabs the train and pulls the train up the second vertical tower. As the train nears the top of the tower, it is released and the train cycles backward through the layout.

The ride ends with the train zooming through the station backwards and heads up the first vertical lift hill again, where it is caught once more and then very slowly lowered back into the station.

The differences are obvious; the Déjà Vu coasters are almost 300 feet longer, 75 feet taller and approx 18 MPH faster than the standard boomerangs. The Déjà Vu coasters also feature 90-degree vertical lifts and larger loops. The loop on the giants is only 15 feet shorter than the lift on a standard boomerang.

Then there's the train, hanging below the track, with riders legs dangling in the air. The chevron seating is four across, similar to a B & M, but with a twist. The seating on Déjà Vu is staggered, with the outside seats pushed back slightly behind the middle two seats in each row.

The Déjà Vu coasters were all set to open in the spring of 2001, unfortunately, nothing went as planned... the rides began malfunctioning during testing.

About NewsPlusNotes

NewsPlusNotes is a blog dedicated to the coverage of the amusement
industry. Our content runs the gamut from major industry headlines
to exclusive reports and items of historical significance. NewsPlusNotes
was founded in 2006, when Mike made the pivotal decision to share his
love of the industry with the world. Since then, what started out as
one enthusiast's hobby has grown to become one of the most widely known
and frequently updated sources of industry information. NewsPlusNotes--or
"NPN", as it is called by fans--now serves up content and commentary to
a global audience which continues to grow on a near daily basis, and its
reach has expanded to Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

NPN remained a solo effort until October 2008, when Mike welcomed three
new full-time contributors (Sabrina, Scott, and Carol) to the blog and the
"NPN team" was officially born. The team was again expanded in March of 2011 Kevin joined as a writer. Simply stated, we are a group of writers
who love the industry and it is our honor and privilege to share that
passion with our loyal readers and fellow enthusiasts. In so doing, we
strive to promote the enjoyment, celebration, and preservation of the
industry. We hope you enjoy our blog and welcome your feedback!

NewsPlusNotes is not affiliated with nor do we purport to
represent the views, interests, intentions, or policies of any
park, corporation, or entity. All original content found on
NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited to all original written
content, the NewsPlusNotes logo and all other static graphic and
web design elements comprising the site, and all photos from
NewsPlusNotes writers' personal collections, is the exclusive
property of the NewsPlusNotes team and may not be used, reproduced,
or distributed in any manner without the express written consent
of the individual author/creator. Read our complete
Terms of Use.

NewsPlusNotes Terms of Use

NewsPlusNotes is not affiliated with nor do we purport to represent
the views, interests, intentions, or policies of any park, corporation,
or entity. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the
individual writers. While we strive to achieve 100% accuracy in our
news reporting, errors inevitably will occur from time to time and we
make no guarantees that the facts presented in any given post will
remain unchanged over time. For complete, up-to-the-minute information
on any park, please visit that park's web site or contact the park directly.

All original content found on NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited to
all original written content, the NewsPlusNotes logo and all other static
graphic and web design elements comprising the site, and all photos from
NewsPlusNotes writers' personal collections, is the exclusive property of
the NewsPlusNotes team and may not be used, reproduced, or distributed in
any manner without the express written consent of the individual author/creator.

All non-original content found on NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited
to park logos, press releases, and photo contributions received from parks,
corporations, and individual readers, remains the property of the original
author/creator and may be subject to additional copyright, trademark, and/or
intellectual property protection. The lack of an explicit copyright notice
does not imply ownership by NewsPlusNotes or any of its writers unless the
content in question has been produced by one of our team members as described
in the paragraph above. NewsPlusNotes occasionally features guest writers,
and these individuals retain ownership of all original written and/or graphic
content that they publish on NewsPlusNotes. By contributing written or graphic
material to NewsPlusNotes, you are implying that you are the owner of this
material or are submitting it with the express consent of the owner. If you
feel that we've made an error or omission in attributing proper credit to a
particular piece of content found on NewsPlusNotes, please contact us and we
will gladly investigate the matter and make any necessary corrections.